UK police return Buddha statue to India 57 years after theft

LONDON – Police in London have returned a 12th century statue of Buddha to India after recovering it 57 years after it was stolen.

Police handed over the bronze statue with silver inlay during a ceremony Wednesday in London marking India’s Independence Day.

The Buddha was one of 14 statues stolen from a museum in Nalanda, eastern India, in 1961.

Police were called after representatives from the Association for Research into Crimes Against Art and the India Pride Project noticed the statue at a trade fair. The dealer and the owner co-operated fully and, upon learning the item had been stolen, agreed to return it.

Detective Constable Sophie Hayes says the case is “a true example of co-operation between law enforcement, the trade and scholars.”